Outsiders (Virtus.pro roster) disqualified from DPC EEU after player draws pro-Russian invasion symbol in mini-map
Tournament organizer Beyond The Summit has disqualified the Virtus.pro roster, who are competing under the name Outsiders, from the Eastern Europe Dota Pro Circuit Tour 2 Regional Playoffs after Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko was seen drawing a “Z” symbol on the mini-map in their series against Mind Games.
The letter Z has infamously been used by the Russian government as a militarist symbol and by individuals in support of the invasion of Ukraine.
Pure was seen drawing the symbol on the mini-map during a pause, with his teammates quickly covering it up before play resumed. This sparked outrage among the Dota 2 community, with fans and casters demanding Valve and the tournament organizer to hold the team accountable for their actions.
So this is what you get in game when you allow players from orgs that support the war in Ukraine to play in a tournaments.
FEATURED STORIESPure, Virtus Pro player, draws a Z symbol in game. Symbol that supports the war and russian army killing ukrainians
They should be banned. indefinetely pic.twitter.com/LOC6VME8f1
— Vitalii Volochai #StandWithUkraine (@v1lat) April 29, 2022
BTS are looking into the EEU DPC incident that occurred during outsiders vs mind games game 1 and discussing with Valve how to proceed
— BTS Godz | aka Parker | #StandWithUkraine (@BTSGoDz) April 29, 2022
Virtus.pro responded to the incident with a video of Pure explaining that the drawing was an accident.
Pure on the recent incident. pic.twitter.com/nv6OU168Yh
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) April 29, 2022
“When we realized what exactly my drawing turned out to be, we tried to cover it up. I didn’t mean to offend anyone, it all happened by accident. Peace to all,” Pure said.
Beyond The Summit issued their statement and competitive verdict on the Outsiders roster a few hours later.
“Outsiders is disqualified from the DPC EEU Tour 2 Regional Playoffs. Mind Games will receive a retroactive forfeit win for their match earlier today,” announced the Beyond The Summit Twitter account. “All future matches Outsiders would have played are forfeit as well.”
As a result of the disqualification, Outsiders will not be able to compete in the ESL One Stockholm 2022 Major, the first Major of the DPC season.
UPDATE:
Virtus.pro has terminated Pure’s contract following their disqualification from the DPC EEU Tour 2 Regional Playoffs.
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) April 30, 2022
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